New chief of Independence Hall refuses to step down

Kim Hyoung-suk, the new chief of the Independence Hall of Korea, speaks in a press conference held at Seoul Regional Veterans Administration located near the presidential office in central Seoul on Monday afternoon. (Yonhap)

Kim Hyoung-suk, the new chief of the Independence Hall of Korea, has refused to step down on Monday, despite accusations from critics that he is unfit for the position due to his alleged controversial view of Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea.

Kim, a former conservative professor, who took office as the chief of the national museum dedicated to the country’s independence movement, denied the claims that he is a supporter of the New Right political movement that justifies Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula as the source of Korea's modernization. The liberal bloc and the Heritage of Korean Independence, a Seoul-based organization tasked with upholding the spirit of the peninsula’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule, has called for Kim’s resignation since early this month over his alleged New Right views.

“I’m not a ‘New Right’ (supporter) in terms of (those) that undermine Korean independence activists and support Japan’s colonial rule (of Korea),” Kim said in a press conference held at Seoul Regional Veterans Administration located near the presidential office in central Seoul in the afternoon.

“I’m not planning to resign. I pledge to focus on spreading the spirit of independence and help achieve unification of the Korean citizens throughout my time in office as the director of the Independence Hall of Korea,” he added.

Kim also warned to take “legal actions” on any “unjust criticisms” made against him, if necessary, from this point on.

Prior to Kim’s announcement, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and five other liberal minor opposition parties floated a joint motion calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol to retract his appointment of Kim.

Democratic Party acting Chair and Floor Leader Rep. Park Chan-dae declared to boycott the 79th celebration of Liberation Day hosted by the government scheduled for Aug. 15, if Yoon does not retract his appointment.

The HKI and a number of other similar pro-independence organizations have also said they would not attend any celebratory events tied to Liberation Day hosted by the government or the presidential office, if Kim does not step down.

In a Monday meeting with National Assembly Speaker Rep. Woo Won-shik at the HKI headquarters in western Seoul, Lee Jong-chan, head of the HKI and grandson of independence activist Lee Hoe-yeong, said that he reaffirmed such a stance towards the presidential office, according to Park Tae-seo, the senior secretary for public relations for Assembly speaker.

The HKI’s accusations are in line with a video that recently surfaced online showing Kim saying that those who believe that Liberation Day is “Aug. 15, 1945, do not clearly know history,” during a private lecture with a conservative group last year.

“(South Korea’s) first government was established on Aug. 15, 1948 -- the Republic of Korea starts there,” he said during the lecture.

The HKI has also claimed that Kim said during his interview for the position to lead the Independence Hall that Koreans “were citizens of Japan” during Japan's colonial occupation of the peninsula, contradicting the organization’s beliefs that Koreans were never Japanese citizens as they were never treated in an equal manner.

By Jung Min-kyung(mkjung@heraldcorp.com)